Rhino poaching and East Asian policies - The Centre for Chinese ...

Policy Briefing December 2012
Rhino poaching and East Asian policies: Facts and debates
2011-2012 saw the highest levels of poaching and illegal trade in rhino horn in many years, bringing
some rhino species towards the verge of extinction in some African and Asian regions. Two of the
world’s five rhino species, the Javan and Sumatran species (found in Asia), have been reduced to
only a few dozen while in Africa, the black and white rhino have been under increasing threat by
poachers. With increasing wealth in East Asia, the demand for rhino horn — in use in traditional
medicine – is also increasing; Rhino horns can fetch up to US$ 110,000 per kilogram. The issue is not
simply a Chinese one: In South Africa, the number of poachers arrested has included Thai,
Vietnamese and Chinese nationals. From this assessment of current challenges in the rhino poaching
crisis, largely in South Africa, and a discussion of the possibility of legalising the rhino horn trade,
this briefing makes recommendations for East Asian authorities on their role in the crisis.
All five rhino species have been on the endangered and
threatened species list of the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for many years. In 1976, the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) listed the rhino on Appendix
I, effectively prohibiting international trade in rhino
products. Rhino horn have been found to be poached
mainly for the Asian markets, particularly Vietnam, China
and Thailand (see map of assumed hotspots for rhino horn),
where horn is traded illegally and used in traditional
medicine. Several Asian cultures hold the unsubstantiated
belief that the horn can cure an array of ailments including
fever and cancer.
Rhino poaching as an Afro-Asian topic
Rhino poaching is not regarded as a key issue in China;
however it may become crucial as a result of the growing
need for environmental protection and conservation
internationally. Following the international trade ban and
signatory to the CITES agreement since 1981, China banned
the trade and use of rhino horn in Traditional Chinese
Medicine in 1993. Rhino horn substitutes were used
successfully to treat patients. Since then, government and
non-government organisations have worked to reduce the
demand for rhino horns. This however has not curbed high
demand, which is spiked by increasing wealth in East Asia.
China is specifically targeted by civil society organisations to
do more to assist in the protection of African wildlife. As the
majority of the world’s black and white rhino species are
found in South Africa, the country has become a key target
for rhino poachers. In 2011, the Department of
Environmental Affairs (DEA) reported a record number of
448 rhinos poached in South Africa, and in 2012 there has
been 588 rhinos poached so far (as of 27 November 2012).
The South African Kruger National Park alone has lost 362
rhinos to poaching in 2012.
There are currently five species of rhino in the world: two
African species (black and white rhino); and three Asian
species (greater one-horned, Javan, and Sumatran rhino)
found in South and Southeast Asia. Historically, the current
population of rhinos is a conservation success. Between
1970 and 1987, 85 per cent of the world's rhinoceros
population was killed due to a demand for rhino products in
traditional Eastern medicine and a demand for knife handles
(made from the horn) used to make "coming-of-age"
daggers for young Yemeni males. Due to this high number
of rhinos poached over time, all five species were listed on
Appendix I of the CITES convention and considered
endangered. In 1976 this led to the banning of international
trading of the rhino species as well as a 1987 regulation
banning domestic trading. Concessions came later in 1994,

Rhino poaching and East Asian policies: Facts and debates
(an Appendix II down-listing for South Africa’s white rhino
population to allow for trophy hunting and live sales) and
2004 (a similar down-listing for Swaziland and limited black
rhino trophy hunting quotas for South Africa and Namibia).
Although the ban on trading horn has been in force since
then, illegal trading of rhino horn continues today. Some
rhino species are close to extinction again: In 2011, the
WWF and the International Rhino Foundation confirmed the
extinction of the Javan rhino in Vietnam. The Javan
rhinoceros is now believed to be confined to one population,
less than 50 individuals, in a small national park in
Indonesia.
The rapid economic development experienced by China in
recent years has further created new challenges and
opportunities for the conservation and sustainable use of
wild animals and plants, such as snakes, crocodiles, ginseng,
tropical timber species, turtles, seahorses and other marine
species. From a traditional Chinese perspective, as in many
other countries, wild animals are a resource to be exploited,
not something to be protected for their intrinsic value.
However as more people are able to afford traditional
Box 1: Regulation of Traditional Chinese
Medicine (TCM)
A way of addressing the use of banned wildlife parts for
traditional medicine was through the regulation of
traditional Chinese medicine practices. Chinese herbal
medicine production, distribution, pricing, and utilisation
are under the regulations of different government
agencies, such as the Chinese State Food and Drug
Administration and the National Development and
Reform Commission. Although the Chinese government
has implemented quality control systems on medical
production, such as implementations of the Good
Agricultural Practice (GAP), the Good Laboratory
Practice (GLP), and the Good Manufacturing Practice
(GMP), the quality control in the production of herbal
medicine still needs to improve.
Since 1999, TCM has also been under the same
registration and licensing procedures as western
medicine. In addition to regular training, both doctors
and pharmacists are required to do one to three years
of residency in a medical institution before taking a
national license examination. TCM is a practical study,
emphasising clinical experience as well as family
lineage. Those TCM practitioners who have studied
traditional medicine can also participate in the
examination of medical practitioners. However, the
complex process and certain requirements of the exam
(e.g. some specific western medical science knowledge)
prevent some TCM practitioners from getting their
licenses. It should be noted that TCM is used globally
and thus requires regulations across countries.
medicine, mounting pressure on conservation simultaneously
leads to greater environmental awareness.
Enforcement of regulation (see box 1) is crucial on the
supply side. There is however also a strong demand side of
the problem. The key to success of CITES lies in the
willingness of member states to enforce its resolutions. The
continued trade of rhino horn illustrates problems with
enforcement mechanisms. China, a CITES signatory, remains
one of the world's top destinations for illegal rhino horn as
reported by the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC).
Wildlife law enforcement in China
Law enforcement of the sale and trade of rhino horn is a
major issue in East Asia; however, very few arrests have
been made in China, Vietnam or Thailand. In contrast, of the
43 documented arrests of Asian nationals for rhino crimes in
South Africa, 24 have been Vietnamese, 13 Chinese and the
remainder from Thailand and Malaysia, reports TRAFFIC, a
wildlife trade monitoring network. The Chinese authorities
have begun to take some action - China’s wildlife law
enforcement authorities taking positive steps to tackle the
issue through enforcement actions and by holding
interagency workshops on the control of illegal online wildlife
trade (see table 1 for the WWF Crime Scorecard). The
inaugural meeting of China’s National Inter-Agencies CITES
Enforcement Coordination Group (NICECG) was held in
Beijing in November 2011 in order to enhance efforts by
China’s responsible government agencies to combat
smuggling and illegal wildlife trade in China.
In June 2012 Chinese authorities stepped up on the online
selling of rhino horn. TRAFFIC reported that 15 of the
leading e-commerce sellers, operating in China, have signed
a declaration stating that they have a zero-tolerance policy
towards their services being used to conduct illegal wildlife
trading. This was after TRAFFIC had found 3,389
advertisements for tiger bone, elephant ivory, rhino horn and
hawksbill turtle products being offered through 15 Chineselanguage
e-commerce sites and associated auction websites
and chat rooms in April 2012.
To legalise trade, or not?
In Vietnam, rhino horns (including fake horn) are being sold
through traditional medicine stores and hospitals. Rhino horn
smugglers are now making very high quality fake horns,
allowing hunters to sell the real horns at a huge mark-up to
black market dealers for traditional medicine and status
symbols. Horn is nowadays even stolen from museums and
private hunters' homes.
Some experts believe that selling off the rhino horn will halt
the need for the black market, as well as bring the value of

December 2012
November 2011
Assessing China’s Role in Foreign Direct
Investment in Southern Africa
March 2011
Box 2: Rhino trade, the legal way?
Rhino horn trade is regulated by CITES and at present,
only South Africa is allowed to export rhino horn. CITES
regulations state only the white rhino can be traded
legally in South Africa and Swaziland “for the exclusive
purpose of allowing international trade in live animals to
appropriate and acceptable destinations and hunting
trophies.” It has been found that only about 15 rhinos are
shot in true trophy hunts in South Africa every year, while
about 200 are shot each year, in pseudo-trophy hunts
where the hunt is solely interested in the horn for selling
into the Asian market. The number of Vietnamese
awarded permits has decreased after this finding.
Live rhinos have also been exported to various countries
from South Africa, especially to China. Over 100 rhinos
have been exported to China, some of which cannot be
accounted for. South Africa reported exporting 61 rhinos
to China in 2006 and 2007, whilst China recorded
receiving 117 rhinos from South Africa during the same
time (IUCN/SSC report, 2009). The mismatch in numbers
clearly illustrates irregularities in the export of live rhino
from South Africa.
the rhino horn down. DEA argues that rhino horn stock piles
could also be sold to fund further rhino conservation efforts.
The call for legalising the trade has, however, drawn much
criticism from international conservation NGOs such as WWF,
which claim this would set back efforts made to stabilise
rhino populations by decades and would only further
endanger the lives of rhino - and possibly drive them to
extinction. Also, ‘legal production’ of rhino horn is unlikely to
saturate a market that is rapidly expanding due to rapidly
increasing wealth in Asia.
A possible legalisation of rhino trade would need a long
discussion on the best possible process for the protection of
the rhino – instead of the economic gains made by the
trading of rhino horn. If legal trade was to become an option,
CITES would need to approve a change in the rules, and for
that to happen, 66 per cent of the 175 member countries
need to vote in favour of the change. A number of issues
would have to be addressed, including the identification of a
trade partner that will control trade in the country of import
and reliable certification and monitoring systems. South
Africa has suspended its efforts for the legalisation of rhino
horn trade as there is not enough time to prepare the
application before the next CITES meeting in 2013.
Botswana seems to generally be going the opposite direction
and has announced a complete ban on trophy hunting for
any game in 2014 in November 2012.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Need is for a clear commitment of East Asian states to work
with African states on environmental protection. Advocacy is
apparently achieving effects; it is believed that the negative
publicity Vietnam has received recently has spurred some
action. Vietnam posted the highest wildlife crime score in the
WWF’s 2012 Wildlife Crime Scorecard report (see table 1).
South Africa and Vietnam — after administrative hiccups –
have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will
encompass bilateral cooperation in criminal investigations
against illegal wildlife trafficking.
Ironically, the rhino poaching crisis is particularly harmful to
China’s image, given that talk often is about Chinese
traditional medicine. The existing regulation within China
does not seem to be the weak point. China is signatory to a
Table 1: Compliance and enforcement scores for destination countries
Countries are scored green, yellow or red in an assessment of their recent efforts to comply with and enforce CITES trade
controls for the three species groups.
Green - General progress in key aspects of compliance and enforcement
Yellow - Failing on key aspects of compliance or enforcement
Red - Failing on key aspects of compliance and enforcement
Country Rhino Tiger Elephant
China
Thailand
Vietnam
Source: WWF Wildlife Crime Scorecard 2012

Rhino poaching and East Asian policies: Facts and debates
December 2012
Hotspot of illegal rhino horn trade
number of environmental/conservation regulation, including
international agreements. The regulation side is thus very
much with the international consensus. Also in place is
regulation of Traditional Chinese Medicine which – in theory
– is also complying with the above international standards.
There are still traditional medicine practitioners who are
promoting the product.
Most Asian states legally provide full protection to rhino
species under their respective wildlife protection acts.
Penalties stipulated in the legislation are generally high, but
convictions are few and sentences often lenient. Capturing
rhino poachers and traders, and collecting sufficient evidence
for successful convictions, has proved challenging. Thus, law
enforcement needs to be improved in China.
Law enforcement needs explicitly both, demand and supply
side efforts. Therefore, Chinese authorities and NGOs need
to create more environmental awareness, not only on the
importance of protecting wildlife, but specifically aiming at
demystifying the value and power of rhino horn.
Further recommendations need to be made for South Africa,
especially in terms of the debate on legalising rhino horn trade.
By storing rhino horn, the South African government is
attributing value to the product. A look at the example of the
trade of elephant ivory might be helpful: Countries like Ghana
and Kenya, contrary to South Africa, have burned the ivory
found. While legalisation of the trade might initially decrease
market value and bring state revenue, longer-term projections
of demand need to be made. Otherwise, legalisation might
mean a very risky gamble with the survival of rhinos.
Meryl Burgess
Research Analyst
Centre for Chinese Studies
Contact Us
Centre for Chinese Studies Tel: +27 21 808 2840
Stellenbosch University Fax: +27 21 808 2841
PO Box 3538 Email: ccsinfo@sun.ac.za
Stellenbosch Web: www.sun.ac.za/ccs
South Africa Twitter: CCS_STELL
About Us
The Centre for Chinese Studies (CCS) at Stellenbosch University
is the leading African research institution for innovative & policy
relevant analysis of the relations between China and Africa.